Pressurized pyrophoric gas lighter



Dec. 20, 1955 P. w. FELT 2,

PRESSURIZED PYROPHORIC GAS LIGHTER Filed Feb. 6, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet l Znwentor PAU L W. F E LT (Ittorneg P. N. FELT PRESSURIZED PYROFHORIC GAS LIGHTER Dec. 20, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet I5 Filed Feb. 6, 1950 Znwentor PAU L. W. F E LT (Ittomeg United States Patent PRESSURIZED PYROPHORIC GAS LIGHTER Paul William Felt, St. Paul, Minn., assignor to Brown & Bigelow, St. Paul, Minn a corporation of Minnesota Application February 6, 1950, Serial No. 142,677

9 Claims. (CI. 67-71) My invention relates to a pressurized pyrophoric gas lighter which may be operated with one hand to ignite the gas simultaneously with the opening of the valve of the lighter and automatically closing the valve by releasing the operating lever.

It is a feature to provide a pressurized gas lighter wherein a removable cartridge containing a liquified fuel is contained, which cartridge may be renewed when the liquified fuel has been discharged therefrom and. replaced with a full cartridge. A further feature resides in a pressurized gas lighter having a supply of liquid fuel which may be released when a flame is desired for lighting cigarettes, cigars, pipes and for any other purpose where a flame light is required and which will supply a large number of individual lights over a period of time, thus eliminating the necessity of refilling the lighter as often as was required old types of petroleum lighters. In this type of lighter no wich is required to carry the fuel adjacent the pyrophoric flint.

It is also an object to provide a lighter wherein by means of a simple hand operated lever, the valve of the lighter is opened and simultaneously a means operates the flint wheel to throw a spark across the nozzle of the valve of the lighter to ignite the escaping pressurized fuel and to maintain the flame of the lighter as long as the operating valve is held compressed. The flame of the lighter automatically goes out when the operating lever is released which permits the valve to automatically close and shut off the supply of pressurized fuel.

It is of primary importance to provide a lighter having a cartridge with liquified fuel contained therein which is sealed and which can be supplied to the user of the lighter so that when a new cartridge is required, it may be qiuckly placed in the lighter and the seal pierced as the cartridge chamber is closed causing the liquified fuel to be directed into a storage chamber in the lighter where the fuel is ready to be released as a gas and automatically ignited by the pyrophoric element.

Thus, this lighter is adapted to be supplied by sealed cartridges which fit into the body of the lighter and which contain a liquified fuel adapted to turn into a gas at atmospheric pressure and room temperature.

A further feature resides in providing a pressurized gas lighter having means for holding a pyrophoric element which is abraded by a serrated Wheel lying in a horizontal plane adjacent the outlet of the nozzle of the valve of the lighter, the serrated wheel being operated by a horizontally positioned cam and adapted to be normally retracted by a spring while the pyrophoric element is urged toward the serrated wheel by a long spring. arm which forms a resilient means for urging the pyrophoric lighter into contact with the serrated wheel.

It is a further object to provide a valve operating lever having a bifurcated end which is positioned under the shank of the valve and is adapted to be operated by a single lever which first opens the valve and then said lever continues in its movement to operate the horizontal cam to cause. a lighting spark to be sprayed over outlet 7 2,727,376 Patented Dec. 7 20, 1955 of the nozzle of the valve. The horizontal cam is pivoted in a manner to cause the operating lever to exert sufilcient pressure to operate the flint wheel with a sudden impulse which causes a. large spark from the pyrophoric element over the valve nozzle. Thus, the valve is opened just prior to the operation: of the pyrophoric spark by a single lever which lever is held compressed as long as a flame light is desired. Upon releasing the lever, the valve automatically closes, and the lighter goes out. A further feature resides in providing an adjustable spring valve for opening and closing the gas chamber of the lighter. This valve may be adjusted to regulate the height of the flame.

It is also an object to provide a lighter wherein the new cartridge is contained within the cartridge chamber in an upsidedown position, and a closure for this chamber is provided which carries a piercing element so that when a new cartridge is placed in the chamber and the closure member is screwed into place, the piercing element opens the cartridge containing a liquified fuel, the closure having means for sealing the escaping fuel from the cartridge in the lighter and causing it to be directed through an opening extending from the cartridge chamber to the gas chamber. The gas chamber may be filled with an absorbent cotton or other filtering means so as to absorb the liquified fuel and 'hold it within the fuel chamber ready for passage out of the valve when the same is open.

The simplicity of the construction of my lighter will be quite apparent, not only from the number of parts required, but the arrangement of the parts to provide a lighter with a streamlined appearance and wherein no wick is required having a one-hand operation to open the gas lighter and ignite the same and permitting the flame to remain: until the valve is released by the onehand operation of the operator. Further, I provide a hood for covering the top of. the lighter which virtually encloses the working parts WlllCh are of a simple construction arranged to operate in a horizontal plane. A flame hole is provided inthe top of the hood which causes the flame to be directed out of the opening and carrying the: heat away from the working parts such as the flint wheel, the pyrophoric element, and the springs which are positioned under the hood and which hold the operating cam under spring tension as well as the spring means for operating, against the pyrophoric element to keep it in contact with the abrading wheel. I have also provided sealing rings made-of Buna-N rubber or other similarrnaterial not affected by the liquid fuel or the gas therefrom and which automatically seal the joints between the respective parts to prevent any leaking of the liquid fuel or gas out of the lighter.

A further feature resides in a simplified form of valve adapted to' be opened when the hand lever is operated by raising. the valve' through the means of a fulcrum lever. The valve has a needle adjustment which may be set at a predetermined position and which regulates the height of the flame when the valve is; opened and the gas is igni ted by the pyrophoricflint.

Immediately following. the opening of the valve and release of. the gas, thepyrophoric spark is directed over the gas nozzle.

These features, together with other objects and details of my lighter will be more fully and clearly hereinafter defined, set forth, and claimed.

In the drawings forming part of. this specification:

Figure l is a perspective view of my lighter.

Figure 2 is a plan-view of the lighter withthe hood removed.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the lighter.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the top of the lighter, the bottom being broken away, looking toward the valve nozzle.

Figure 5 is an enlarged side view of the top of the lighter with the hood removed, the bottom portion being broken away.

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the lighter looking in the opposite direction to Figure and showing the hood removedtherefrom.

Figure 7 is an edge view looking toward the operating lever. v

Figure 8 is an inside view of the operating lever as it appears when removed from the lighter.

Figure 9 is a side view of the flint holding member and base plate which supports the same.

Figure 10 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the lighter.

Figure 11 illustrates a perspective of the fulcrum lever for operating the gas valve.

Figure 12 is an enlarged plan view looking down on the operating lever.

Figure 13 is a plan view of the top of the lighter with the gas valve and operating parts removed.

The gas lighter A is provided with a die cast body portion 10 which may be of any suitable shape and which is shown in the cross section or plan or bottom view in teardrop formation with rounded edge portions making the lighter easy to hold in the operators hand.

The body 10 is formed with an inner chamber 11 adapted to receive the replaceable gas cartridge 12 which holds a supply of liquified fuel adapted to provide a pressurized gas for the lighter A.

I have found that it is desirable to place the fuel cartridge.12 in an upsidedown position in the lighter A as illustrated in Figure 10 so that the cartridge may be placed in the chamber 11 when the sealing plug 13 is removed. The sealing plug 13 is provided with a piercing element 14, the point 15 of which pierces the seal of the cartridge 12 as the plug 13 is moved into closed position. When the cartridge 12 is pierced by the point 15, the liquified fuel and gas escaping from the same is sealed by the 0 ring sealing washer 16 and the gasket 17 which is positioned around the head of the plug 13.

An auxiliary gas and filtering chamber 13 is formed in the body 10 of the lighter A adjacent the chamber 11. This chamber 18is substantially filled with absorbent cotton or other similar filtering and absorbent material. The chamber 18 is adapted to receive the liquified fuel, and the absorbent cotton 19 acts to absorb and filter the fuel as it passes from the cartridge through the passageway 20, formed in the inner core portion of the plug 13, from which passageway the gas and fuel escapes from the cartridge into the chamberll and through the passageway 21 into the chamber 18 where the cotton 19 receives the same. I

The cotton 19 also acts to prevent the liquid fuel from escaping out of the lighter when the valve of the lighter is opened. It is important that the liquified fuel from the cartridge 12 passes from the chamber 18 in the form of gas rather than liquid. The cotton in the chamber 18 assists in breaking up the liquid into a gas as the liquified fuel expands when it escapes from the cartridge 12 and passes over to the chamber 18.

The cartridge 12 is filled with a liquified fuel which turns into a gas at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. When the liquified fuel escapes from the cartridge 12, the inherent pressure in the cartridge forces the liquified fuel into the chamber 18, and as the fuel expands into said chamber, it turns into a gas which is adapted to provide the supply of fuel for the lighter A which escapes at the top of the lighter through the specially designed valve um't B.

The valve unit Bis removably positioned at the top 1 of the chamber 18 and is held in a manner to close the top of said chamber by the screw plug 22. -The member 23 is positioned below the plug 22 and carries an O ring sealing washer 24. The valve member 25 is held normally closed by the coil spring 26 which causes the valve to seat on the sealing washer 27 fixed at'the base of the valve. An axial passageway 28 is formed through. the valve 25, and this passageway communicates with an opening in the washer 27. .A small opening 29 is formed in the member 23 offset from the axial opening 28 and out of which the gas from the chamber 18 escapes when the valve 25 is raised against the spring 26. I also provide an O ring sealing washer 30 for the valve 25 to prevent the escape of gas from the chamber 18 around the valve 25. The valve 25 is provided with an adjustable nozzle 31 which is threaded in the top of the axial opening 28 and is formed with a needle point 32 which extends into the passageway 28 and thus the nozzle 31 can be set to regulate the opening out of which the gas fuel escapes from the valve 25.

The valve 25 is adapted to be operated by the fulcrum lever 33 which is formed with a bifurcated end 34 adapted to fit under the head 35 of the valve 25 so that when the lever 33 is caused to rock on its fulcrum point 36, the valve 25 is lifted against the spring 26 and gas escapes out of the chamber 18 through the passageway 29, 28 and the axial opening 37 formed in the nozzle 31.

In Figure 10, part of the operating mechanism has been removed to more clearly illustrate the fulcrum lever 33' in relation to the hand lever 38. The top of the casing 10 is formed with a recess 39 in which the fulcrum' lever 33 is positioned. The recess 39 is suificiently narrow to hold the lever 33 in operative alignment with the bifurcated end 34 engaging under the head 35 of the valve 25 (see Figures 10 and 13 The hand operated lever 38 is held normally in the position illustrated in Figure 10 by the flat spring 40 with the lower end pivoted at 41 in a slot in casing 10 and the upper working end positioned adjacent the free beveled end 42 of the fulcrum lever 33. Thus, when the lever 38 is engaged by the hand of the operator and pressed inwardly, the beveled edge 43 of the lever 38 will engage against the free beveled end of the lever 33 which causes the lever to raise the valve 25 and permit gas to escape out of the nozzle 31 as long as the lever 38 is held pressed inwardly. As soon as the lever 38 is released, the spring 40 will carry it to the normal position, illustrated in Figure 10, and the valve 25 will automatically close.

As a safety feature, I provide an opening through the lever 44 in the upper portion of the lever 38 which is adapted to receive a small rod orpin 45 so as to prevent the lever 38 from being operated in shipping or packing of the lighter A for shipment. Thus, the pin 45 will hold the, lever against operation and prevent gas from escaping from the nozzle 31. The pin 45 is removed when the lighter is in use and not in the course of shipment or storage.

A hardened steel wearing ring 46 is snapped on to the upperend of the lever 38 positioned just below the flange 47. The ring 46 is adapted to operate against a cam plate 48 which is pivoted at 49 and which extends horizontally above the plate 50 which is positioned above the lever 33. The cam plate 48 is formed with the upstanding post member 49' against which the free end 51 of the spring 51 bears to urge the plate 48 against the ring 46 of the lever 38. With the plate 48 pivoted on the post 49 and the spring 51 hearing against the post 49 the plate 48 is thereby tilted slightly so that the tongue or pawl 53 is spring-urged against a notch or tooth 54 formed on the underside of the wheel 55, and the pawl 53 withdraws over the tooth as the cam plate 48 returns to the position shown in Figure 2 when pressure on the lever 38 is released. With the plate 48 pivoted on the post 49 the pawl 53 moves in an are against a tooth 54 of the wheel 55 as the wheel is rotated. The cam plate 48 is held by the coil spring 51 with its cam surface 52 bearing against the wearing ring 46. The plate 48 has a spring tongue 53 which engages with the shoulders 54 formed on the under surface of the flint wheel 55. The flint wheel 55 is held on the shaft 56 by the washer member 57 and is free to be rotated by the cam plate 48 when the lever 38 is pressed inwardly causing the tongue 53 to engage one of the shoulders- 54 and rotate the flint wheel to throw a spark from the pyrophoric tlint 58 across the nozzle 31 at the same time that the lever 38 opens the valve 25, thus igniting the escaping gas from the nozzle 31.

The plate 50 is mounted on the casing above the lever 33 and is adapted to support the flint receiving housing 59. The coil spring 60 is mounted on the pin 61 and is formed with a spring arm 62 which extends through the slot 63 in the flint housing 59 so asto bear against the rear end of the pyrophoric flint 58 pressing the same against the sharp teeth of the flint wheel 55. A shoulder 64 stops the free end of the arm 62 when the flint 58 is virtually worn out, whereupon the spring arm 62 can be removed from the slot 63 and caused to rest against the pin 65 while a new flint is placed in the flint housing 59. The spring arm 62 can then be placed against the rear of the flint to cause the flint to operate against the flint wheel by the spring tension of the spring 60.

A hood 66 is provided to cover the working parts of the lighter A as illustrated in Figure 1. The hood 66 slides down over the top of the body 10 of the lighter A with its lower edge resting against the shoulder 67. The hood fits frictionally on the upper end of the body 10 of the lighter A and forms a finishing cover for the working parts such as the cam plate 48, the springs 51 and 60, the flint housing, the flint wheel, the fulcrum lever 33, and the nozzle 31 as well as the working end of the lever 38. The hood 66 is formed with an opening 68 for the flame of the lighter A, and a series of air openings 69 are provided in the sides of the hood to admit air so that the flame from the nozzle 31 will burn above the hole 68. The hood gives a clean, smooth appearance to the top of the lighter and encloses the working parts so that the pyrophoric flint 58 may throw lighting sparks over the nozzle 31 without interference of air draft and thus insuring the operation of the lighter when the lever 38 is pressed inwardly. So long as the lever 38 is held pressed in, the lighter will burn with a flame extending out of the hole 68. The moment the lever 38 is released, the flame will go out and the gas will cease to escape out of the nozzle 31.

It is an important feature of my lighter that the flint wheel extends in and operates in a horizontal position and is operated by the lever which simultaneously operates the gas valve 25. This simple construction provides a very desirable lighter wherein the gas cartridge 12 can be replaced at any time. The pressurized fuel in the cartridge 12 is of a suflicient volume to provide many thousands of lights for the lighter so that the fuel cartridge 12 does not have to be replaced very often. The gas valve is unique in its simple form and is formed in a unit so that it can be readily removed if desired or placed in regular position to operate. It is also an important feature that the cartridge 12 may be readily replaced through the removal of the plug 13.

I have provided a closure plate 70 for the bottom of my lighter A which may be pivoted on the screw 71 when the screw from the opening 72 is removed or when the free end 73 of the plate 70 is moved to one side as illustrated in Figure 3. The portion 72 of the plate may be countersunk so as to lit in the countersunk opening 74 to hold the plate normally in position to cover the bottom of the lighter A and the plug 13.

The lighter is made so that any of the parts may be readily replaced which also facilitates the assembly of the parts that make up the lighter and also simplifies the construction of the same.

While the invention has been described in a particular form with the arrangement of the parts as illustrated in the drawings, I desire to have it understood that variations may be made in the construction and form of the lighter within the scope of the following claims without parting from the purpose and intent of the invention.

I claim:

1. A pressurized pyrophoric gas lighter consisting of a body, a cartridge chamber, a gas expansion and filter chamber, a removable plug for closing said cartridge chamber having a piercing element for piercing the fuel cartridge placed in said chamber, a removable valve unit closing said gas expansion chamber, a toothed horizontally disposed abrasive wheel mounted on a vertical shaft, a pyrophoric flint contacting said wheel under spring tension, a valve opening fulcrum lever, a pivoted horizontal cam having a tongue formed thereon adapted to engage said toothed wheel and a depressible hand operated lever pivoted to said body adapted to engage said valve lever to open said valve and simultaneously operate said cam to rotate said abrasive wheel against said flint to ignite the fuel gas escaping from said valve, a flame being maintained as long as said hand lever is depressed and gas is released from said valve.

2. A lighter adapted to contain a replaceable cartridge of liquid fuel which turns into gas at atmospheric pressure and room temperature comprising a casing, a cartridge of compressed liquid fuel, screw plug means formed in said casing for piercing said cartridge, a gas expansion chamber for receiving the liquid fuel from said cartridge, a replaceable adjustable gas escape valve, a pyrophoric igniting means including a flint, a flint wheel horizontally mounted on a vertical shaft secured to said casing, a cam plate horizontally mounted on said casing having a tongue member adapted to engage said flint wheel; a fulcrumed lever for lifting said valve, and a hand lever having cam surfaces adapted to actuate said cam plate and said fulcrumed lever to ignite gas issuing from said valve.

3. A pressurized pyrophoric gas lighter including a casing, a cartridge containing a supply of liquified fuel under pressure, means for piercing said cartridge to allow the fuel to escape therefrom, a gas expansion chamber having a filter compound therein, a valve unit connected to said gas expansion chamber and including a valve for closing the gas chamber, an adjustable nozzle carried by said valve to regulate the escaping gas through said valve, means for sealing said valve unit in place, a horizontal fulcrum lever pivoted on the top of said casing for lifting said valve to open the same, a pyrophoric lighting means, a horizontally disposed cam for operating said lighter means pivotally mounted on the top of said casing, and a single hand operated lever having cam surfaces formed thereon adapted to actuate said fulcrum lever to open said gas valve and virtually instantly thereafter actuate said cam for operating said pyrophoric lighter means to ignite the escaping gas from said gas chamber.

4. A pressurized pyrophoric gas cigarette lighter including a casing, a pyrophoric spark means including a flint abrading wheel mounted on a vertical shaft mounted on said casing, a nozzle valve mounted in said casing, a hand operated lever pivotally mounted on said casing having a bevelled edge and an arcuated surface formed on the upper end thereof, a horizontally disposed fulcrum lever mounted on the top of said casing, the forward end of the same adapted to engage said nozzle to lift the same, said fulcrum lever positioned so that the rear end thereof is engaged by said bevelled edge of said lever, a cam plate pivotally mounted on the top of said casing and movable by said arcuated surface of said hand lever adapted to operate said spark means, said casing having a plug formed with piercing means adapted to pierce a cartridge of compressed gas placed in said casing when said plug is secured to said casing.

5. In a pressurized pyrophoric gas cigarette lighter, a casing, an outlet valve nozzle mounted in said casing, a fulcrumed lever mounted to rock on the top of said casing and in engagement with said nozzle, a pivotally mounted hand lever having a portion thereof for contact engagement with said fulcrumed lever to rock the same for opening said nozzle, a cam plate pivotally mounted on said casing, and shoulder means on the outer free end of said hand lever positioned to directly contact and operate said cam plate as said fulcrumed lever is actuated by 'said hand lever.

mounted on said casing, a cam plate pivotally mounted on said casing and having a tongue member adapted to engage and rotate said flint wheel, means formed on the upper end of said hand lever to engage said cam plate and operate said flint wheel moving the same virtually simultaneously with the opening of said nozzle to shower sparks over said nozzle to ignite gas issuing therefrom.

7. A pressurized gas lighter having a casing for holding the liquid fuel under pressure which when released is in the form of a gas, a burner nozzle on the top wall of said casing, a horizontally disposed pyrophoric means including a flint wheel mounted to rotate in a horizontal plane, a cam plate having a tongue portion for engaging the lower surface of said flint wheel to rotate the same, a horizontally disposed rocker lever having one end engaging beneath said nozzle and in position to open the valve of the lighter to permit gas to escape through. said nozzle, said cam plate being disposed above said rocker lever, a hand pivoted to the side of said casing and having cam surfaces on the free end thereof for operating said rocker lever and said cam plate simultaneously to open said nozzle and project a spark over the same, and a spring for normally holding said lever in inoperative position.

8. A pressurized fuel cigarette lighter, a casing, a pyrophoric lighting means including a flint wheel adapted to rotate in a horizontal plane and flint mounted on the top of said casing, a gas nozzle mounted on said casing adjacent said pyrophoric means, a cam plate pivotally mounted on said casing and having one end adapted to engage beneath said flint wheel to rotate the same, a valve lifting lever lying horizontally on the top of said casing below said disposed cam, and a hand operated lever adapted to simultaneously operate said cam and said valve lifting lever in a single operation whereby when said hand lever is operated, gas is caused to escape from said casing out of said nozzle and is simultaneously ignited by said pyrophoric means I 9. In a pyrophoric gas cigarette lighter, acasing for receiving liquified fuel under compression, a single compressible hand lever having an upper free end pivotally mounted on said casing, an escape valve mounted on said casing, a toothed flint wheel mounted on said casing adja cent said escape valve, a flint mounted in contact with said flint wheel, a cam plate pivotally mounted on said casing having an upstanding member formed thereon, said cam plate having a pawl member formed thereon for engagement With a tooth of said wheel, a spring mounted on said casing and urged against said upstanding member to urge said cam plate upward against said hand lever and to tilt said cam plate slightly whereby said pawl is urged against the under side of said wheel and against a tooth thereof, said free end of said hand lever pivotally engagable with said cam plate, .a free fulcrumed lever positioned on said casing with one end under said valve for lifting the same and the other end depressible by said upper free end of said hand lever, when said hand lever is depressed to actuate said cam plate to produce sparks over said escape valve.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,508,600 Guinn Sept. 16,1924 1,708,267 Godfrey Apr. 9, '1929 1,921,855 Whittaker Aug. 8, 1933 I 2,199,040 Cecchet Apr. 30, 1940 2,482,794 Peterson Sept. 27, 1949 2,495,345 Quercia et a1 Ian. 24, 1950 2,612,033 Flamm Sept. 30, 1952 2,671,328 Flamm Mar. 9, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 10,826 Great Britain Dec. 5, 1912 923,219 France Feb. 17, 1947 

